The first major event in When Heaven and Earth Change Places is when the author/main character was born underweight and premature. After that she was raped multiple times which then led to her becoming pregnant with a bastard child. Then her character began to slightly change and she sold herself for $400. She only did this to be able to support her family for the next year. Her father started to become an alcoholic and lose himself due to the absence of his children. It bagan to take a toll on him and Le Ly's father, who she adored, passed away. As the story continued, she was on a quest to get to America. She eventually marries an American and they go to America together. The last major event in the story is when Le Ly is summoned to Vietnam to bring back the Viet Kieu which is people who once lived in Vietnam and moved to America. She returns to Vietnam to reunite with her family.
Characters:
Le Ly: main character. Determined and dedicated woman
Le Lys Mother: strong-willed, family oriented and stricked
Le Lys Father: very stricked, nurturing, man of the house, wise
Anh: employer going on lover, impregnated Le Ly, later in life had close relations with her family.
Hung/Jimmy: Le Lys first bastard son
Lan: Escort to American men, smut, sister of Le Ly, stubborn, selfish
Ba: Selfish, Le Lys protecter when she was young, helped others
Ban: Hanoi and was a soilder in war, Le Ly looked up to him as her eldest brother, gave his family honor
Per: European man whom Le Ly met at the airport while returning to Vietnam, helped calm her nerves.
Characters:
Le Ly: main character. Determined and dedicated woman
Le Lys Mother: strong-willed, family oriented and stricked
Le Lys Father: very stricked, nurturing, man of the house, wise
Anh: employer going on lover, impregnated Le Ly, later in life had close relations with her family.
Hung/Jimmy: Le Lys first bastard son
Lan: Escort to American men, smut, sister of Le Ly, stubborn, selfish
Ba: Selfish, Le Lys protecter when she was young, helped others
Ban: Hanoi and was a soilder in war, Le Ly looked up to him as her eldest brother, gave his family honor
Per: European man whom Le Ly met at the airport while returning to Vietnam, helped calm her nerves.
Themes: